Waking up from a blackout is not like waking up in the morning. It is like swimming up from the bottom of a dark well. At first everything is blurry. You can only hear things. You feel the weight of your body. It is hard to move. Then you start to hear things like the beeping of the heart monitor and the noise of the ceiling fan.
"Mia? Mia do you recognize me? Hey wake up."
I slowly opened my eyes. The light was really bright. It hurt. I saw a face looking at me. It was Kim.. She looked different. She was not wearing her bandana and her head was shaved. Her eyes looked tired.
"Kim " I said, my throat was really dry. "Where are we? Why is everything white?"
Kim took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "We are in your room. You fainted in the garden earlier. We were. You just fell down. We thought something bad happened to you."
I tried to remember what she was saying. I closed my eyes. Tried to think about the past. I remembered a tree and the sun and Jerome laughing.. These memories were like puzzle pieces that did not fit together.
"How many hours was I out?" I asked as I sat up.
" four hours " Kim said. "The doctor checked on you. Said it is normal for your condition.. You need to rest and not get too tired."
I reached for my notebook. This is my "External Brain". I write everything in it so I do not forget. I flipped to the page and read what I wrote.
Name: Kim.
Illness: Brain cancer.
Personality: Talkative loves gossip
Name: Jerome.
Illness: Bipolar.
Personality: Sometimes sad.
Name: Ian.
Illness: Paralysis.
Personality: Quiet loves the sea.
I read those lines over and over so I could remember. Then I felt someone at the door. It was a man. He was not a doctor or a nurse. He was the man I saw before I fell down.
He was tall and thin and wearing a hospital gown. He had a sketchpad in his hand. His hair was messy. His eyes looked deep.
"Who is he?" I asked Kim.
Kim smiled. "That is Jade. He is new here. He has been waiting outside your door since they brought you here."
Jade came in slowly. He looked at me. Then gave me a piece of paper. "For you " he said. His voice was deep and gentle.
I took the paper. It was a drawing of me lying under a tree. I looked peaceful. I did not look like a person.
"I saw you in the garden " Jade said. "I wanted to give this to you so you would remember that you are beautiful."
I felt my face get hot. Most people here look at me like I am a patient.. Jade saw me differently.
"Thank you Jade " I said. "I am Mia."
Jade smiled. "I know. Kim told me.. Jerome.. Ian. They said you are the queen of stories."
Kim said goodbye. Left us alone. Jade and I were quiet, for a moment.
"What is your illness?" I asked.
Jade looked away. "I have cancer. The treatments are not working. The doctors say I do not have time left."
I did not know what to say.. Jade did not seem scared. He seemed okay with it.
"Aren't you afraid?" I asked.
Jade looked at me. "I am afraid of forgetting. Like you.. I am more afraid of dying without anyone knowing who I really am."
I took my notebook. Wrote:
Name: Jade.
Illness: Cancer.
Personality: Knows how to draw thinker has a heavy gaze.
"Now you will not be forgotten " I said. "Because you are written in me."
A nice and honest smile came across his lips. This was the start of a friendship that I did not think would make my life more interesting.. Behind that smile at Javier Hospital we knew that every happy moment was not going to last.. When I looked at the drawing he gave me I felt that everything we did yesterday would help us make a better tomorrow even if it was going to be painful.